The Contractor (2022)

 

                I seem to be reviewing quite a number of action thrillers lately.  “The Contractor” fits that genre, more so than the war genre.  But I watched it, so I’m going to review it even though I would not classify it as a war movie.  It was on lists of 2022 war movies, so there are “experts” who think it is.  Regardless of what it is, it did poorly at the box office, despite a good cast

                James Harper (Chris Pine) had been an Army Ranger before he hurt his knee and got hooked on steroids.  His family is in need of money.  Lucky for him, his buddy Mike Hawkins (Ben Foster) hooks him up with a black ops organization run by Rusty Jennings (Kiefer Sutherland).  The first cliché is the job is too good to be true.  The second cliché is Harper’s wife does not want him to go back into danger.  Plus, you have to throw in the adrenalin rush of combat.  The mission is to abduct a scientist who is working on bioterrorism for Al Qaeda.  The plan is easy-peasy, but cliché alert, it isn’t.  They say that in war, your plans last until the first bullets are fired.  The same applies to action thrillers.  And like most action thrillers when the protagonist is sent on a mission, they find out all is not what it seems.  You’ll be able to figure out who the villain is quicker than Harper does.  Harper goes on the run and is the target for others like himself.  How ironic!  Good thing he is a badass survivor.

                “The Contractor” wastes a good cast in a by the numbers action flick.  Harper's wife in Gillian Jacobs.  She plays the stereotypical woman jilted in favor of war.  (Like Evangeline Lilly in “The Hurt Locker”.)  The movie has that bros before hos trope.  Pine and Foster elevate the material.  Material which is below them.  The plot is not ground breaking.  It is more implausible than most.  Harper is blessed with adversaries who can’t shoot straight.  However, he has umbrage on his side and the audience demands closure.  Closure does not involve logic.  The movie works better if you haven’t seen a bunch of action thrillers.  But if you haven’t see a lot of action thrillers, you wouldn’t be watching this one.

                I can only recommend “The Contractor” if you are an action thriller junkie.  Or a big Chris Pine fan.  Or your wife or girl friend is a big fan of his and you let her twist your arm into seeing this movie.  She’ll clutch you like you’re watching a horror movie because of all the close calls Harper has.  If you watch it by yourself, that’s kind of sad.  And if you watch it because you were told it was a war movie, that is sadder.

GRADE  =  C